Strick

So Friday was a bad day for me. I was in Chicago picking up some hours from my old employer and was heading to work around 6:30AM. I was driving down a major thoroughfare when a Volvo S40 decided to try and cross the major road from a stop sign. I didn't see it coming until the last second. I was going about 40MPH. I weaved to the left when I saw her and she hit me directly on my right rear wheel. I was in the process of weaving back to the right, because of the median on the other side of the intersection, and she basically sent me into a 360 spin. Luckily I missed the median and all the parked car and did a perfect 360 straight past the intersection and came to a stop 30 yards past the intersection.

I got out and was absolutely amazed! My tire was flat and the rim had a little scratch. Other than that, no visible damage. Unfortunately for her, I took off her entire front end, minus the engine. She had to be towed away, obviously, but all I did was throw on the spare and drove to work. Yes, this was after that cops and fire engines and what not.

Needless to say she did not admit fault. Cop said there was nothing he could do and at 6:30 in the morning there was no one in sight. So it was her word against mine. Anyway, she was in a much worse situation than me at this point so I figured I wouldn't argue and finished thing up. My insurance labeled it as no fault and nothing will change with that.

So anyway, my boss showed up at the scene to see me off and to make sure the Jeep drove fine. No noise, no shaking, no grinding. When we jumped on the highway to go to the suburbs for a job he said he thought there was a little bit of "shimmy"...just a tiny tiny bit he said, wasn't sure it was just all in his head or not though. Anyway, I live in Indiana and drove home that night about 2 hours and it drove great.

Saturday I took the Jeep out for a drive to double check things since it's quieter in the country and noticed the right rear brake squealing just a bit just as I applied my brakes. If I brake lightly it continues, if I break medium to hard it makes no noise. So I took off the tire and looked all welds and joints over really good. No cracks in the welds, no apparent bends at the lower or upper control arms, rotor appears to be perpendicular to the axle, no cracks in the axle. So I took off the bottom caliper bolt and swung up the pads and took them out and checked for a crack pad, nothing...so I put them back in and closed up shop. Now I did not apply new break grease to the back of the pads when I put them back on and it was obviously hardened after 10k of new pads so maybe I should get more grease on the pads?

Today, I am back in Chicago and now I get some noise when driving straight. It's in rhythm so I figure it's a brake thing.

So here is the advice I am looking for... what would you check? I don't wanna use my insurance company as I have a $500 ded. plus my rate would go up. So I figure if I stay under $1k then I will take care of it. I do all work on the Jeep. It hasn't seen a grease monkey in it's 50k miles. I have an 08 with lifetime powertrain so I don't want to just let it go and have Jeep cancel it on me at my 5 year checkup or something. It is on record in a police report and with the insurance company so if Jeep really wanted to deny something I could be out of luck down the road. Is there a dealership that anyone would suggest in Indiana or Chicagoland so get this looked at the would understand my situation? I was thinking Extreme Jeep in north chicagoland..somewhere up there don't remember exactly, but I've heard good things.

Thanks in advance.

Tgoods 09 X

Im from the Northern Chicago land area and a year ago when I bought my JK Extreme Jeep in Mchenry was closing. I would try the dealer in Crystal Lake. Thats where I bought my Jeep from and they were nothing but helpful. So I would try there. They have been really good about working on my paps Ram 2500. Here is the # (888) 400-0077 Good Luck

Tim

ronjenx

How can what you describe be "no fault"? You had the right-of-way, and she hit you in the right rear.

The insurance companies should hash that out.

I would have brought the Jeep to a body shop for an expert eye, and an estimate.
You'd be surprised what they can see that we don't.

CoachMitch

How right you are. I own a collision center here in Florida. We have customers come in all the time that think they have no damage. After we inspect their vehicle and begin to show them what we find they are amazed. We can also use our "freekn lazer" alah Dr. Evil to check the rear end housing for true. As far as the accident is concerened welcome to the term "no fault accident". In florida the insurance companies just let each individuals insurance pay for damages to their insured's vehicle in any case where obvious liability cannot be found. Sucks but it works for them so nobody is going to change that. Good luck and try and get a 4 wheel thrust angle alignment as soon as possible. Also, have the tire unmounted and inspected internally for any seperation. Remount and balance to check wheel. Good Luck.

Widewing

My thoughts on this are.. Let the insurance company fix what needs to be repaired on the Jeep. Then, file suit in small claims to recover the deductible and any expenses associated with having your Jeep out of service and not covered. You are entitled to "be made whole".

In small claims, she will get her ass handed to her. She hit you after entering a road where you had the right of way.... end of story. Her responsibility. She cannot be represented by an attorney. She'll have to stand there and explain why it isn't her fault that you vehicle suffered damage.

ssg381

I say you show a lawyer the police report. looks like a really good case on your part.. Im sure the lawyer will see it your way. You had the right of way and was hit towards the back. You have nothing to lose.. Im almost sure there will be no out of pocket on your side. Her insurance will give in cuz your jeep doesnt really show any physical damage and want no part in a law suit. Give it a shot.

Basic13

A couple problems I see.

1. You are not at fault for the loss-there will be no negative effects on your insurance.
2. Who are you insured with, they sound like a bunch of dumb monkeys, she failed to yield the right of way, correct? I would be up her insurance companies ass!
3. Like others have said, you probably cannot see the fact that your axle housing is bent.

The dana 44 axle housings are soft unfortunately.

My suggestion is for you to do this:

-jack your jeep up by the differential. Once the jeep is in the air have someone start the jeep and watch the wheel for any "wobble", my guess is that you will see some wobble and you can be certain the axle housing is bent.

How do I know that these axle housings are soft? I am an insurance adjuster, when I call junk yards for parts they will not guarantee a quote for the axle assembles on jeeps. Most likely they are bent, therefore they will not align properly.

Strick

I appreciate all the suggestions. I wish everyone would stop with the whole going to court thing. I don't have the money to do it. The report is no fault for either party. Geico has it listed as no fault on my part, but I am not prepared for some long battle or a day in court to have this taken care of. I can't prove it, she can't prove it. I forgot to mention that I had a signal light that she said I ran, not the case, but again sort of the reason nothing can be proved. It's bad enough I have to go to court with an updated insurance card because the only card I had was just out of date. Automatic court appearance in Chicago. Luckily I show that I was covered and go on my way, but still...

All that aside, I will take the Jeep to a collision center this coming weekend. I guess I will just let me insurance company take care of this after all. I rather have a new axle if needed than driving around for years with stuff all out of wack. Thanks for the suggestions people.

ronjenx

The reason I (and others) wondered how it could be no fault is, originally you said she had a stop sign.

He-said-she-said is the reason I want to get a dash cam.

Strick

Yeah sorry i meant stop light...not stop sign. I didn't re-read. I guess that caused a lot of confusion here my bad. Anyway it is very much a he said she said situation. I had a green and apparently so did she.

I am taking it into Jeep tomorrow for them to take a look at it.

Can a bent axle be fixed? Or does it have to be replaced? If they could straighten the housing could I get strong sleeves put in? I know I am was ahead of myself. I will post back the results tomorrow night.